Gun season safety tips

Hunters need to follow these steps

Nov. 20, 2013

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

Other people might have accidents, but you wonít. Other people might have heart attacks, but you wonít. It doesnít matter that you're a heavy smoker, 80 pounds overweight, out of shape, and diabetic, youíre immortal.

Donít we all wish that were true?

The deer gun season will be coming up shortly, and thatís a strenuous time for everybody. For lots of local gunners, the season means itís time to get up off the couch, put away the beer and potato chips, and spend 8 to 10 hours a day marching across fields, through wood lots, and climbing over deadfalls.

For those who bag a deer, thatís even tougher. A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that walking over rough terrain, field-dressing and dragging a deer raised the heart rates of middle-aged males well beyond levels produced by treadmill stress tests. Which puts them at risk for heart attack and sudden death.

Itís a simple fact that youíre not going to give up deer hunting, an exciting business and a tradition with many families, so what can you do to reduce your odds? One great risk reducer is to carry a cell phone at all times.

In some of Ohioís wildest country it might not work, but in most of the places youíre likely to hunt (near home) the phones work fine. And if you do experience chest pains, dizziness, nausea, or other signs of illness, donít try to be stoic, to tough it out, stop hunting and call 9-1-1. If youíre hunting with friends, have someone drive you to the nearest hospital. Itís just common sense.

Most hunters carry a small backpack with such simple necessities as a thermos of hot soup, a sandwich or two, maybe some coffee. Add a small first aid kit to that pack this year. It weighs little, and if you fall and sustain a cut or even a broken limb the ingredients inside can stop blood flow and bind up a wound. Make sure the kit contains a few aspirin, too.

I keep reading about how taking a couple of aspirin at the beginning of a heart problem can literally save your life.

If thereís one factor more important than most others, itís ignoring your ego. All of us seem to think weíre in our 20's, instead of 50 or even 60, and we remember well those good old days when weíd hunt all day, then play half the night.

If youíre driving for deer and getting tired, donít worry about the thoughts of fellow hunters, just say, ďI think Iíll sit this drive out and rest a little.Ē Then do so.

And if you do kill a nice buck or doe, donít drag the animal out yourself unless itís absolutely necessary. Get a couple of young guys in the party to help. After all, what are young guys for?

If youíre hunting alone, donít try to reach your truck in one long pull. Drag a little, then sit down and rest, then drag some more. Thereís no hurry.

Finally if youíre hunting alone and donít have a cell phone or it doesnít work where you like to hunt, tell someone where youíre going and when youíll be back.

I donít rabbit hunt, squirrel hunt, seek deer, or even go fishing without telling my little lady exactly where Iím going and when Iíll be back. If Iím not back, she knows what to do and where I can be found. Forget to do this, have a heart problem or break a leg, and you might be out there for a couple of days. Or forever.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.